Over a century ago, Yiddish theater was all the rage in New York and other major American cities with a sizable Jewish population. A wide range of well known performers (such as Paul Muni and Leonard Nimoy) cut their teeth on these stages. Of course, the 2nd Avenue corridor in New York City held many of these Yiddish theaters and this site from the New York University Libraries seeks "to capture...

The Library of Congress has reached into its holdings to add a wonderful exhibit on popular culture to its well known American Memory collection. American Variety Stage includes at present English and Yiddish language playscripts, theatre playbills and programs, over 60 movies, and photographs and memorabilia about Harry Houdini, the famous magician and escape artist. As befits the LOC, these...

The Auburn University Theatre Collection, part of the Auburn University Digital Library, includes just under two hundred items documenting theater productions at Auburn from 1914 - 2007. The earliest item is a 5-page typescript titled, "Information About Dramatic Productions Given at Auburn," that lists titles and dates of plays produced in the 1910s, 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s. The most recent item...

One of the most enduring legends of American film, stage, and screen receives an excellent tribute on this online exhibit from the Library of Congress, dealing with his 70 year career, and more broadly, the enduring legacy and history of vaudeville in the United States. Different sections of the site include an essay on the early life of Bob Hope, the story of American vaudeville in the first...

Around for close to two hundred years in one form or another, musicals are much loved by many professional and amateur companies who tread the boards. Authored and maintained by John Kenrick, an expert on musical theater history (and a personal assistant to six Tony-winning producers), the site contains close to 900 Web pages of information about the history, development, and current traditions of...

This exhibition preview from the Library of Congress highlights the work of Roger L. Stevens, one of America's foremost theatrical producers and impresarios of the 20th century. During his a career that lasted over fifty years, Mr. Stevens backed his first Broadway show in 1949 and soon became a moving force in American and British theater, eventually presenting over 100 plays and musicals in...

Lovers of the dramaturgical arts will want to take a look at Theatrehistory.com, which offers a host of resources on the long and storied past of this performing art. The homepage for the site features links to a script archive, a Today in Theatre History section, a featured topic area, and a listing of the other areas covered within the site. The script archive is worth a look by aspiring...

The New York Public Library has three major digital exhibitions currently running to complement their in-house exhibits. Together, these exhibits constitute a marvelous introduction to Western history via primary documents and images from the era. Touring West "celebrates the creators, promoters, and performers of professional theater, music, and dance who toured the American continent" from 1803...